Hinge assemblies are used for door systems or items of furniture, for example, in order to open and close doors or flaps. Frequently, contact switches are provided in the region of a hinge of the respective hinge assembly that detect opening and closing of the hinge, and hence a corresponding movement of the associated door or flap. By means of this detection of the hinge movement, certain functions can then be activated, such as light applications or safety-relevant functions.
A hinge assembly is known from DE 24 36 225 A1 which is used as a safety device in the region of a door. This hinge assembly comprises a hinge that is composed of two hinge parts connected by an intermediate joint. In the region of a first, fixed hinge part, there is an autonomous remote switch unit which is composed of a radio unit and a generator unit. The radio unit and the generator unit are each accommodated in cylindrical housings and extend orthogonally to the first hinge part in a direction opposite the second, movable hinge part. The generator unit has an actuation element which extends through a cutout in the first hinge part toward the second hinge part that it contacts when the hinge closes. A cylindrical permanent magnet is thereby shifted and locked into a standby position within the generator unit. If the door, and hence the hinge as well, is opened, the actuation element of this generator unit is moved back into a home position by means of an integrated spring and entrains the cylindrical permanent magnet along with it at the end of the movement. The cylindrical magnet is then suddenly moved to the middle of a coil pack which causes the induction of an electrical current pulse, by means of which current is supplied to the radio unit. When power is supplied, the radio unit transmits a signal at a specific frequency, whereby an opening of the door corresponding to the signal is detected in a receiver unit to the side of the hinge assembly. A security system can thereby be formed by means of which opening of the door is detected by an autonomous remote switch unit.